Share this:

Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish had a perfect game going against the Boston Red Sox with two outs in the seventh inning Friday night. A strange play broke up the bid for perfection, but a controversial ruling by official scorer Steve Weller kept alive Darvish’s try for a no-hitter.

MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds vehemently disagreed with the official scorer’s final determination, calling it the “worst ruling in Major League Baseball history.”

David Ortiz hit a popup into shallow right field that both second baseman Rougned Odor and right fielder Alex Rios pursued. It looked like it was going to be another routine out for Darvish and the Rangers, but the ball dropped, forcing the official scorer to determine whether the play should be ruled a hit or an error. The official scorer ultimately scored the play an error on Rios despite the ball not touching either player’s glove.

Ortiz later broke up Darvish’s no-hitter with two outs in the ninth, and the Rangers still rolled to an 8-0 victory over the Red Sox at Globe Life Park in Arlington. But the seventh-inning play caused some tense moments and nearly caused Reynolds — who believed the play should have been scored a hit — to blow a gasket.

Check out the controversial play and Reynolds’ reaction in the video below.

I agree w/Reynolds........ it's garbage. If it had hit leather then you call it an error. If not, than it's a hit. In just about every game that I have seen that same play it is called a hit. I hope David Ortiz appeals that play, and is credited w/another hit. He got robbed.

It was Rios' play to make. Whether it was poor communication, or the rookie called it, or simply misjudged it ... Maybe Odor should have gotten credit for the error? It doesn't matter, it was a playable ball and it dropped in. As a Sox fan I'd love to call that a hit for Papi, but it was an error. Rios should have caught it. ... As for the worst call ever? Ask Armando Galarraga about his perfect game, or Jose Offerman about that mile wide swipe at second, or Rich Gedman about that play at the plate in Detroit on June 14th 1983. Those are perhaps the 3 worst calls ever. That's just off the top of my head.